This invention relates to implant devices and more particularly to a bone implant and a method for inserting the implant into a cavity in the bone.
The present invention, while of general medical application for humans and other vertebrates, is particularly well suited for use in the field of dentistry to provide support for artificial teeth. In cases in which there are natural abutment teeth of sufficient strength and rigidity, the artificial teeth may be supported by conventional bridgework. However, this is not always the case, and it then becomes necessary to surgically implant a support member in the jawbone in order to provide a firm base on which to mount the artificial tooth.
The most common implants in present usage are fabricated from stainless steel or other metallic material. However, the metal implants utilized heretofore for dental purposes, and also in the fields or orthopedics and neurosurgery, for example, frequently have exhibited a corrosive action in the presence of living bone with the result that an electrolytic current or other adverse reaction was created with serious deleterious effect.
To alleviate this problem, various proposals have been made to form the implant from acrylic polymers and other inert materials. One of the difficulties encountered with such previous proposals was that the materials often did not have the necessary structural properties to provide adequate support. In addition, and this has been of special moment for implants made from acrylics such as methylmethacrylate resins, difficulties were encountered in maintaining the implant in its proper position for an extended period of time under the hard usage encountered in the mouth.